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China's space programme

China's space programme
The China National Space Administration was founded more than 25 years ago and is overseeing an ambitious programme which includes deep space exploration, a manned space station, and cutting-edge advancements in technology, new materials, robotics and artificial intelligence.
Chinese rocket maker Galactic Energy has successfully sent its Pallas-1 medium-to-large reusable rocket into orbit. Photo: Weibo
China’s private sector

Can China catch SpaceX? New commercial reusable rocket takes to the skies

The orbital mission marks a key milestone for Beijing’s commercial launch sector.

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Aerospace: Industry Trends

As China-US space race heats up, Shanghai unveils space-computing hub

Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Chinese reusable rocket’s success unlocks opportunities for Hong Kong

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United States

Trump orders creation of US ‘Space Academy’, amid rivalry with China

The institution, which will train civilian and military recruits, will be modelled on the famous military school at West Point.

US President Donald Trump departs after presenting the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to Artemis II crew members in Houston on Friday. Photo: AP
China’s private sector

China’s commercial space sector expands global footprint with Thailand deal

GalaxySpace describes mission as first turnkey satellite export to a Southeast Asian customer by a Chinese commercial space company.

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Space

Moon mission delay a hiccup, but there’s no stopping Chinese rocket city’s rise

Rocket launches transform Wenchang from a farming community to a booming space city, drawing tourists and skilled workers in droves.

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LandSpace

Meet Dai Zheng, the space veteran betting on China’s reusable rocket revolution

LandSpace’s rocket booster recovery has supercharged the country’s commercial space ambitions – and validated a former state engineer’s start-up gamble.

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Dai Zheng of LandSpace in a CCTV interview broadcast on August 20. Photo: CCTV
US-China relations

Opinion | China’s view of Trump’s America has changed from alarm to a shrug

Erratic and transactional, the US leader’s approach exposes domestic governance flaws and the limits of Washington’s containment strategy.

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Hong Kong science and tech

Hong Kong-built greenhouse gas tracker device ‘functioning well’ on space station

Tech minister Sun Dong says Multi‑Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory has ‘successfully captured images with good clarity’.

China’s private sector

China clears Geely for landmark satellite test to spur commercial space drive

Geespace secures a two-year satellite IoT trial from MIIT, the first approval for a private Chinese firm.

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A rendering of Geespace’s push to deploy proprietary orbital networks. Photo: Handout
SpaceX

Editorial | As the space race heats up, China’s momentum is undeniable

LandSpace’s successful recovery of the first stage of its Zhuque-3 rocket is a milestone that underlines China’s aerospace ambitions.

In a global first, leading Chinese commercial rocket company LandSpace has recovered a stainless-steel booster after an orbital launch, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to develop lower-cost, reusable rockets. Photo: CCTV
US-China tech war

SpaceSail’s record funding fuels China’s satellite challenge to Musk’s Starlink

Company pairs landmark capital with rapid satellite deployment and overseas expansion as China’s private aerospace sector breaks new ground.

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Science

China joins Musk’s SpaceX with reusable rocket breakthroughs

LandSpace’s success in landing a rocket, following CASC’s achievement last month, may help launch space missions more cheaply and more frequently.

Science

China becomes first to recover orbital launch rockets with 2 distinct paths

Zhuque-3 reaches orbit and has its first stage recovered, pulling off a dual-track strategy even the US has yet to execute.

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In a global first, leading Chinese commercial rocket company LandSpace has recovered a stainless-steel booster after an orbital launch, marking a major step in the country’s efforts to develop lower-cost, reusable rockets. Photo: CCTV
Mainland China

Opinion | Where does China’s fourth rocket failure in 2026 leave its busy space schedule?

Does Beijing have time to fully investigate the year’s fourth rocket failure or will launch schedules force rapid returns to service?

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The Long March-7A rocket exploding less than 90 seconds into its flight on August 10, after launching from the Wenchang Space Launch Site. China has launched the 7A thrice in seven weeks, after a five-month stand-down due to failure investigations. Photo: Handout
Trending in China

Ex-factory worker and engineer to make history as one of China’s first space passengers

When asked why she desires to travel to space at the age of 73, Huang simply stated that she just wants ‘to take a look’.

China's military weapons

China’s latest rocket failure prompts questions about ambitious launch schedule

Long March-7A explodes less than 90 seconds into flight, delaying ChinaSat-4B satellite installation and possibly affecting other programmes.

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US-China relations

Crawfish soup on Mars? US Senate hears worries over China’s scientific ambitions

Republicans point to Beijing’s rising research spending, while Democrats warn Trump’s funding cuts could erode America’s ability to compete.

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A Chinese researcher’s colourful anecdote about serving spicy crawfish soup to astronauts on Mars has been used in a US Senate hearing to highlight concerns over China’s scientific ambitions. Photo: Shutterstock
Space

Editorial | With its innovative rocket recovery, China makes strides in the space race

Beijing’s breakthrough is likely to advance its ambitions in the cosmos and enhance global connectivity and economic growth.

Aerospace: Geopolitics

How is China hunting hidden space rocks that could ‘devastate a small country’?

Beijing will use ground telescopes and orbital satellites to track dangerous space rocks that currently go undetected.

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Science

China used a giant net to land a reusable rocket. Does the idea have legs?

It’s an unconventional approach that has sparked debate over how it stacks up against America’s landing-leg system.

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The Long March-10B rocket booster is safely recovered in the South China Sea on Friday. Photo: Xinhua
China’s private sector

One giant leap for the state: how China’s aerospace model differs from SpaceX

Friday’s retrieval of a rocket booster made China the second nation to master the precision recovery of an orbital-class rocket component.

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A Long March-10B carrier rocket blasts off from a commercial spacecraft launch site in Wenchang, south China’s Hainan province, on Friday. Photo: Xinhua
Science

China joins US in reusable orbital rocket capability

The successful capture of the booster stage of a Long March-10B rocket is a first step on the road to narrowing the decade-long head start of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

IPO

The new space race: how China plans to break SpaceX’s dominance with IPO push

As Beijing makes history by capturing the Long March-10B booster at sea, at least 15 aerospace firms are racing to go public on Shanghai’s Star Market or in Hong Kong.

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China shipbuilding

China’s historic sea-based rocket recovery puts spotlight on local shipbuilder

Unlike conventional vessels, the platform must maintain exceptional stability and positioning accuracy in rough seas.

This drone photo taken last Friday shows the successful capture of the returned first stage of a Long March-10B carrier rocket on a seaborne platform. Photo: Xinhua
Japan

Nasa knows how to deflect an asteroid. Can Japan’s Hayabusa2 pull it off?

Analysts say the Torifune fly-by highlights Tokyo’s growing role in global space safety efforts and its ‘goodwill science’ policy.

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The Hayabusa2 space probe makes a close fly-by of the asteroid Torifune, in this illustration by Akihiro Ikeshita. Photo: Ikeshita/JAXA/Kyodo
Science

Long March-10B: China’s net-capture rocket joins space race with edge on SpaceX

Soon after launch, the first stage of the rocket returned vertically and was recovered via a sea platform, state media says.

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Science

China’s asteroid hunter nears target after 400 days, though size is a surprise

Tianwen-2 spacecraft is equipped with varying sampling modes to perform best in uncertain terrain of 2016 HO3 asteroid.

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